ATLA: New Beginnings
by Gentlewolf
Summary: Yes, it's another ATLA fic following after the ending of the series. I know, there are so many. Well, this is meant to be for Tokka. What happens when Toph seperates from the group to find her own destiny? Will it lead her back to where it all began?
1. Toph's Confession

**ATLA – New Beginnings**

_Ch. 1: Toph's Confession_

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**A/N:** So, since a few people seemed to like the little snip-it that I originally wrote, I decided to go on ahead and write more. To be honest, I'm not sure what direction this will go into. I have a general idea for the next couple of chapters, but I'm really not sure where it'll lead.

So, here is the edited and extended version of _Toph's Confession_, which has become the first chapter of yet another series fic. I have so many started already... ^^;

I will have the next chapter up as soon as I can manage. Please review after you read. I'd really like to hear your opinion, but no flaming, please, it will be ignored.

**Disclaimer:** I do not own Avatar, the Last Airbender or any of the characters in this fic. Only the idea for this fanfic are my own.

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Toph searched through the palace for a certain warrior of the Southern Water Tribe. The place was too large and there were so many people around that it was giving her a headache. How hard could it be to find the only person in the whole palace that was walking with a crutch.

After turning down another hall she finally felt the limp and tap of what had become of Sokka's walk, thanks to his broken leg. She pushed the door open into the room. "Sokka," she called his name. "I've been…" she trailed off as she realized that the person in the room had a shorter stature then Sokka did. _"Okay, so he's not the only person in the whole palace who has a crutch," _Toph thought with a sigh of frustration. She muttered an apology and quickly left the room.

She had searched through the living quarters and the guest rooms, but only found servants or various guests who had been invited to stay after Zuko's coronation as Fire Lord. They greeted her with enthusiasm and treated her like a war hero. She liked to stop and bask in the glory and tell about how she discovered metalbending, as many requested her to do, but she was in a hurry.

She stopped for a moment in an enormous hall to try to catch her bearings. She could feel a servant come out from a room behind her. There were four people walking in her general direction, but she did not recognize them. Someone came through a large entry up ahead and to the left. Toph immediately recognized the voice as he spoke to a small group that followed him.

"So you see, ladies, the secret to making the finest tea in all of the…"

"General Iroh," Toph addressed him urgently.

The old tea master looked away from his guests, towards her voice. "Toph, is everything alright?" he noted her haste as she approached. "And please, call me uncle," he told her for the tenth time.

Toph stopped in front of Zuko's uncle and bowed her apology. "Forgive me," she said, playing out her nobel upbringing. "But have you seen Sokka around anywhere?"

"Ahh, the young hero from the Water Tribe," he spoke for the benefit of the guests who followed behind him. Now that she paid attention to them, Toph could tell that it was a group of four young women. They all giggled at the mention of Sokka. "We were just having tea in the garden and these fine young ladies asked for some tips on tea making," he mused. Toph shifted impatiently on her feet. "I do not recall seeing any fine young men. Did you, ladies?" he asked the giggling, blushing girls behind him. They all replied that they hadn't.

"Okay, thank you," Toph gave a short nod and turned to rush down a hall that crossed the one that she was currently in.

"You may want to try the banquet hall," Iroh called after her. "Take the third hall to your right."

"Thank you," Toph called back to him as she continued on her way. "I'm sorry," she spoke more quietly. She would have liked to stay and chat with the old man, but she was on a mission. She felt that it was now or never. When she reached the third hall, she took a hard right, narrowly missing a servant who pressed against the wall and held an empty tray against her chest in order to avoid the collision.

Toph followed the hall, without a word of apology, and was led into the banquet hall. Toph had been in the hall the night before. Tables were lined out in rows and a buffet style lunch was being served for the new Fire Lord's guests. She ignored her growling stomach and set to the task of searching through the crowd. Finally she found him, down at the other end of the room. Toph ducked and slid past everyone in his direction.

"Sokka, are you going to eat more?" Suki's voice reached Toph's ears. "This will be your fourth plate." The Kyoshi warrior was following behind him as he hobbled beside the buffet table, occasionally stopping to pile more food onto the plate that she held.

"What can I say," Sokka responded. "I'm a growing boy."

_"Great_," Toph thought to herself, "_Suki is here too." _She came up behind an unsuspecting Sokka and grabbed his hand. Sokka jumped at the sudden contact and attempted to pull his hand away, but she held it tightly and refused to let him go. "I'm borrowing your boyfriend," Toph told Suki, and pulled Sokka with her back into the direction that she had come, not giving the other girl a chance to protest.

"Whoa, hey, Toph, stop pulling, I can't go that fast!" he exclaimed in a panic as he tried not to fall. Toph slowed down reluctantly. "I was still eating," Sokka complained as he looked back over his shoulder at the plate that was slowly disappearing from his sight.

"Don't worry, Snoozles, I only need you for a minute and then you can go back to your roast duck and sizzle crisps."

"My food," Sokka called out mournfully as his stomach let out a growl of protest.

"Can it, Snoozles! They aren't going to run out of food."

Sokka allowed himself to be pulled towards the main hall. Toph took a quick left and he stumbled over his feet. "Hey, Toph? Where's the fire?" He asked and then laughed at his own joke. "Get it, where's the fire… Why, we're in the fire nation of course," Sokka continued to laugh obliviously. When Toph came to a dead stop in front of him, he bumped into her and just barely caught himself from falling. "Hey, that wasn't nice," he complained, all humor put aside.

"Sokka, there you are, I've been looking all over for you," Katara said. "Dad wants to speak with us."

"It's going to have to wait, Sweetness." Toph said as she brushed passed the waterbender and continued to pull Sokka down the hall. "I need him for a moment."

"O….kay, sure, Toph," came Katara's baffled reply after taking a quick step out of the way to avoid being trampled.

Sokka looked back at his sister and they both exchanged a look of confusion. "I'll catch up," he called back to her. It occurred to him that Toph meant business, and he instantly changed modes from comedian to caring older brother. They continued down the hall in silence until Toph led him out into the garden.

Slowing her pace, Toph enjoyed the warmth of the sun on her skin. She was wearing traditional fire nation apparel, which left her shoulders bare. A warm breeze blew past them, blowing her bangs into her eyes. She took a deep breath to calm her nerves and smelled the sweet fragrance of the flowers around her.

Sokka walked quietly beside her, aware that something wasn't right. "So…." He started to say, raising his free hand to the back of his neck.

"Oh, Sokka! I'm glad I found you!" Aang called as he came to a stop in front of them and leapt off of his air scooter, allowing the spear of wind to dissipate. "Zuko wants you to…"

"What is this?" Toph's cry of frustration startled the Avatar into silence. "Suddenly everybody needs Sokka! Wait your turn!" Toph's raised her hands out to her sides and stone walls rose up from the ground. She then turned to raise two more walls on the other sides. To ensure that the no one invaded their privacy from above Toph slid one wall up to form a roof and replaced the missing wall.

Sokka stared through the darkness of the stone hide-a-way that surrounded them. "Um, Toph, what's going on? Don't you think this is a bit extreme?" His question was met with silence. "Toph?" he spoke her name after a moment, wondering if she was still there.

"I'm here," she said quietly. Sokka blinked and couldn't believe his ears. There was something different about the way that she spoke. It was softer and almost meek.

Toph was relieved by the obscurity that the hide-a-way provided because he wouldn't be able to see her. She found that she could muster up her courage better this way.

Sokka heard her take a deep breath. "What's up, Toph?" he asked in a genuinely concerned voice. He took a step forward and reached for her, but she stepped to the side and he dropped his arm in silent understanding.

"I…" she began to say before swallowing a knot that had formed in her throat. "I… like you," she finally confessed.

Sokka nodded his head, despite the darkness and her blindness. "I like you too Toph," he replied. Toph could tell, though, that it wasn't the same. His heart still beat calmly while her heart was now racing.

"It's not like that," Toph quietly explained. "It's more than friendship," she said and felt the blood rush into her cheeks.

Sokka nodded again and smiled. "I know, Toph. We have all become like a big family. Isn't it great?" he said, stretching his arms out wide for added effect and then hugging himself as he grinned happily. The sound of his crutch falling to the ground indicated his actions, but she could feel them perfectly.

Toph felt like her heart might jump out of her chest. "_How clueless is he"?_ She wondered to herself. She couldn't believe how difficult this was becoming, and she was getting frustrated. "It's not like that!" She exclaimed, slamming her fists downwards at her sides. She wondered what she would have to do in order to make him understand her feelings.

Sokka felt the earth rumble and wobbled slightly before he pressed back against the wall for stability. "Whoa! Hey, Toph, stop that," he said, hoping that his voice didn't give away his nervousness to being swallowed into the earth as a result of her temper. After a brief moment of silence, he calmly asked, "Okay, then what's it like?"

Toph's stomach twisted, and for a moment she nearly lost her nerve. She didn't expect that explaining how she felt about him would make much of a difference. After all, he had Suki. She paused briefly before making up her mind and braved the step towards him. "I just wanted you to know," she said in a small voice that nearly cracked. She then earthbended herself up to his height and kissed him on the lips. He stood stiffly, and she could feel his heart racing, but discerned that it was caused by her previous earthbending.

Sokka was stunned speechless about this new discovery, but before he could regain his composure the wall behind him suddenly dropped back into the earth and he fell backwards, landing on his butt. The brightness of the sun blocked Toph out of his vision with a large orange circle.

Toph was now satisfied, she had done what she wanted to do; now she believed that she wouldn't have any regrets and that she could move on with her life. "Goodbye, Sokka," she said before earthbending herself into the ground and disappearing.

* * *

Sokka blinked against the brightness of the sun. He raised a hand to block the blinding light but found that Toph was gone, as was the little hide-a-way that she had built around them. He sat where he had landed with his legs stretched out before him and leaned back on his hands.

"Hey, Sokka, are you alright?" Aang asked. He had airbended himself up and over from where he had been on the other side of where the hide-a-way used to be and was now coming down to a landing behind his friend.

The last few moments replayed through Sokka's mind. He could still feel the softness of her lips against his. Toph liked him… in a romantic way? This new discovery left him somewhat confused; he could hardly believe that Toph was even capable of those kinds of emotions.

"What did Toph want?" Aang asked while bending over his friend.

Sokka shook his head and shrugged. He definitely couldn't tell anyone about this - what would Suki do if she found out?

"Sokka!" Katara and Suki called simultaneously as they ran out into the garden towards him.

Sokka tilted his head back to see the girls after the avatar stepped to the side. From this angle, they looked upside down. "Wow, you both look strange like this!" he laughed.

"So what was that all about?" Katara asked after both girls came to a stop behind him. "What was so important that Toph had to speak to you about it alone?" She asked with her hands on her hips.

"Was it truly necessary that she drag you all the way out here?" Suki wondered curiously, feeling that the earthbender had dragged her injured boyfriend out too far.

Sokka let himself lay back in the grass when his neck started to ache from its awkward angle. From this position he stared blankly up at something red. "_Funny, shouldn't the sky be blue?" _The thought just barely crossed his mind.

"Hey! Sokka! What are you doing?" Suki's tone of annoyance reached his ears and he tried to look up at her.

After focusing his vision he bolted up with sudden awareness. "I'm sorry!" he exclaimed, and cringed, waiting to get hit; but the hit never came. Instead Suki bent over him, tilted his head back so that he had to look up at her, and planted her lips to his. Sokka's eyes went wide when, for a split second, he saw Toph's face leaning over him instead of Suki's.

"I was only teasing you," Suki told him with a playful smile. "It's not like I'm wearing a skirt or anything." She was wearing her traditional fire nation apparel; red pantaloons with a red short cropped halter top.

_"Wow, how lucky to be kissed by two separate girls in less than five minutes_. W_ho knew that I was so popular_?" Sokka thought to himself.

"What's with that smug look you're giving me?" Suki asked with a grin. "You're not thinking naughty thoughts again, are you?" she giggled as his cheeks turned red.

"I can't believe I just heard that!" Katara gawked and closed her eyes, but the image had already formed in her mind. "Ah, Suki!" she exclaimed. "I don't want to know what you and my brother do in your spare time!"

They all laughed, but as Sokka watched the laughing faces of his friends he sobered quickly and returned to his previous thoughts. Somehow, he didn't feel so lucky. The realization came to him that things were going to get complicated. Sure, he could laugh everything off as a joke now, but he worried about what would happen the next time that he saw Toph; would things be awkward between them?

"So, where did Toph go?" Katara asked after their laughter died down. She searched around the garden for the girl in question.

"She just disappeared," Sokka replied to his sister as he accepted Suki's offered hand to stand.

"Actually," Aang said matter-of-factly, "She earthbended herself into the ground.

"What?" Suki asked out of curiosity. "Why would she do that?" She looked towards Sokka for the answer.

"Who knows why Toph does what she does?" Sokka said as a joke and laughed nervously. When his eyes met with Suki's, something that he saw there made him look away from her. "I promised her that I wouldn't say anything," he lied. To his relief, no one questioned it.

"Come on, big boy," Suki began to say, offering the crutch for Sokka to take. "You've got a plate full of food to finish. No sense in wasting it," she continued to say with a smile and looped her arm into his to pull him back towards the banquet hall.


	2. Paths of Parting

**ATLA – New Beginnings**

_Ch. 2: Paths of Parting_

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**Author Note:** Okay, well, here's the second chapter... obviously, even though my proofreader hasn't proofread it. He hasn't been online in a couple of days, and, well... I'm kind of in the need for some encouragement.

I've proofread it 5 or 6 times now, using the "things to watch out for" list that my proofreader gave me... so, I really hope that it turned out okay...

I'm going to have to do a little research for the next chapter. That research includes figuring out why my DVD player isn't working, so that I can watch Book 1 again... I actually really need to watch the whole series again, but I don't have books 2 or 3 yet. I was thinking of waiting for the collectors editions to come out, since I bought the collectors edition of book 1, but after that poor excuse for a movie, I wonder if they will do a collectors edition for books 2 and 3.

**Disclaimer**: I do not own **Avatar: The Last Airbender**. I claim no rights to these characters. Only the idea for this fic are my own.

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Just outside of the inner gates of the city that led to the palace, Toph earthbended herself to the surface. A carriage waited a few feet away. "Lady Toph," the coachman bowed and held the door open for her. "King Bumi is waiting for you." Toph smirked at the idea of being called a lady but climbed into the coach anyway.

The coach jerked into motion and the young earthbender was left to her thoughts. Her unseeing eyes stared blankly at the wall opposite of her.

She wondered how long it had been since she had met him; seven or eight months? In that time she had developed a childish crush. With him, she had found a partner in crime, so to speak. They both loved to joke around, and they understood each other. He respected her need for independence while somehow always being by her side; but, he had Suki. Suki was older, more mature, and a lot more feminine. Toph knew that she couldn't compete with that, and she didn't want to.

Aang had mastered earthbending, he no longer needed an earthbending master. Toph didn't have anything holding her to the group anymore; it was time to find her own destiny.

When King Bumi asked her to return with him to Omashu to help rebuild his city and to teach metalbending, Toph saw her opportunity to continue living independently. She would miss her companions and, most of all, she would miss Sokka, but her feelings were unrequited and needed to be buried in the past.

Lost in her train of thought, she didn't notice when the coach came to a stop. "Lady Toph," the coachman's voice drifted into her mind. "We have arrived."

Toph wasted no time at getting her feet back onto the ground where she could see again. The elder King was approaching her, and behind him, an airship stood ready for departure. "Have you said your goodbyes?" King Bumi asked after coming to a stop in front of her.

She suddenly realized that she hadn't told anyone that she was leaving, but if she went back now she imagined that they would try to talk her out of going, or offer to go with. "Yes," she replied; it wasn't a lie, she had told Sokka goodbye. He was the one who mattered the most – not that the others weren't important. She would ask someone to write a letter to the others when she made it to her new home.

"Then let's get this show on the road, or rather, in the air. We have a city to restore," the old King said, offering his arm to lead his young companion to the awaiting airship.

Toph fought against her pride not to take offense at the gesture; it was customary in noble society for a young woman to have an escort, after all. She supposed that she might as well get used to high society life, again.

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Sokka scanned the smaller dining hall, his plate of food left untouched. Most of the guests had left the palace. The few who remained were now having dinner with the new Fire Lord.

"What's wrong, Sokka? Did you eat too much at lunch?" Suki teased from where she sat beside him.

"Humm?" Sokka asked, pulling his eyes away from the door. He hadn't seen Toph since their earlier encounter. As far as he knew, she didn't eat lunch. It wasn't like her to skip meals; she was just as much of a carnivore as he was.

"You're not eating," Suki pointed out.

Sokka looked down at his plate as if he had forgotten that it was there. He picked up a piece of meat, stuffed it into his mouth, and turned to smile at her. "See, I'm eating," he said with his mouth full. It sounded more like, "ee, eym eetng."

Suki shook her head with a smirk and rolled her eyes before wiping the side of his mouth with a napkin. "Don't talk with your mouth full," she reprimanded.

"Sorry," he said sheepishly after forcing the half chewed substance down his throat.

"So, what did Zuko want?" Suki asked, referring to his meeting with the Fire Lord earlier that afternoon.

Sokka pushed his concern for Toph's whereabouts to the back of his mind – after all, she could take care of herself. "Oh, right. He asked that I become his representative in the Southern Water Tribe when I return home with my father…" he trailed off. They had been avoiding this subject since Chief Hakoda announced to his children that he would be returning home in the morning and he wished that Sokka and Katara would go with him. He had been away from them for more than 2 years and it was time to reunite the family.

Suki stared down at her plate and absentmindedly pushed her food around with her utensil. "Yeah… about that," she started to say after a moment of awkward silence. "I have to return to Kyoshi."

Sokka nodded his understanding, but couldn't find his voice to speak.

"I have responsibilities there," Suki continued to explain, "to my warriors."

"I understand," Sokka's throat felt dry and he took a quick drink before continuing. "This won't be goodbye. We'll see each other again, soon. It's not like Kyoshi is on the other side of the world from the South Pole," he said with optimism, bringing a small smile to her face. The conversation died as quickly as it was started when they both went back to eating.

Later that evening, Sokka was in search of his sister. Suki had already retired for the night, claiming the need for sleep. He didn't argue the point and excused himself to search for Aang and Katara.

He had checked Toph's room after dinner to find that it was empty. _"Well, she did say goodbye,_" the thought crossed his mind. _"But I didn't expect her to mean it." _He wondered if she had told anyone else where she was going? The idea that she would leave without any further explanation disturbed him; the rest of the team had been open about where each individual would be going next.

Sokka touched the door knob of Katara's guest room door. He was about to enter unannounced when their voices reached his ears.

"I have to stay in the Fire Nation for now, but with Appa, I can visit whenever you want," Aang explained in an almost pleading voice.

"I know, Aang…" Katara replied. There was a short pause where Sokka could imagine her sighing. "But it won't be the same..."

Not wanting to eavesdrop, Sokka knocked on the door before pushing it open. He eyed the couple suspiciously as they scrambled away from one another; Aang leaping off of the edge of the bed and Katara turning away from him with a blush. Sokka almost chuckled at the sight. "Relax, it's just me," he announced. "I just had one question."

Aang scratched the back of his head, unsure of what to expect. Katara studied her hands, which were folded in her lap.

"Have either one of you seen Toph?"

Katara looked up in surprise and exchanged a quick glance with Aang. "No, not since this afternoon," she replied.

"So, she didn't tell either one of you where she was going?"

"No, why, is there something wrong?" Aang shifted his weight and asked.

"I can't find her anywhere."

"Maybe she just went into the city," Katara suggested with a hint of annoyance in her voice.

Sokka considered the possibilities; maybe she was just avoiding him for the night. He slowly nodded and turned to leave the room, but not before looking back over his shoulder at them when he reached the door. "Aang, you may be the Avatar, but if you do anything to hurt my sister I'll find a way to bring you down," he warned before leaving the couple to resume their conversation.

Sokka returned to his room, removed and threw his tunic over the plush red chair in the corner and fell back onto the bed. He stared up at the ceiling, his mind to active to sleep. In the morning Team Avatar would be splitting up. He was certain that he would see the Avatar often, and he would visit Suki as much as he could, but his concern remained about Toph's destination. Would she return to her parent's home? Somehow he doubted it. Wherever she planned to go he hoped that by morning she would be her usual self again.


End file.
